From b03b249be78b3574d6a437e525f8ee3fab606894 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Teri Bostick Date: Sat, 18 Jan 2025 06:03:10 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Fight Drought In Kenya --- ...owers-Farmers-to-Fight-Drought-In-Kenya.md | 40 +++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 40 insertions(+) create mode 100644 Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Fight-Drought-In-Kenya.md diff --git a/Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Fight-Drought-In-Kenya.md b/Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Fight-Drought-In-Kenya.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..904b369 --- /dev/null +++ b/Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Fight-Drought-In-Kenya.md @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +
By Nita Bhalla
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KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka believed it needs to be a joke when he was told he could water his [drought-hit crops](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) more inexpensively, easily and efficiently utilizing a pump fuelled by cotton waste.
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"Who could think it's possible to make a fuel better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" laughed Mathoka, crouching down to inspect the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri town in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.
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"But it works," he said, walking over to a and plucking a large green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually assisted me get higher yields, particularly throughout drought periods."
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Mathoka said his earnings had actually doubled in the two years he has actually been pumping water using biodiesel, which is both more effective and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre less expensive than routine diesel.
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The [biodiesel](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) he is using is not simply great news for him - it is also excellent news for the planet.
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Unlike the majority of biofuels, which are stemmed from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86), it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making process.
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That means that in addition to being cleaner and more affordable than regular fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels since no extra land is required to produce it.
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From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) crops has actually driven forest communities off their land and pushed farmers to switch from [crops-for-food](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) to more rewarding crops-for-fuel - intensifying food scarcities.
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"Our [biodiesel](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) comes from squashing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the process of separating the seeds from raw cotton," stated Taher Zavery, managing director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based business producing the biodiesel.
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"We started producing and utilizing it to power our cotton ginning factory in 2011. With increased production, we now utilize it for our trucks, offer it to the United Nations to run a few of their buses - and likewise to regional farmers for irrigation."
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More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually up until now purchased [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) pumps for watering as part of an initiative launched by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.
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DRY RIVER BEDS
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[Climate modification](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) is taking a toll across east Africa and progressively unpredictable weather condition is ending up being commonplace in [nations](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rains.
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The recurring droughts are destroying crops and pastures and are starving animals - pressing countless people in the Horn of Africa to the brink of severe hunger.
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The variety of Kenyans in need of food help in March rose by nearly 70 percent over a period of 8 months to 1.1 million, largely due to bad rains, according to federal government figures.
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With [practically half](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a serious shortage of rain, humanitarian firms are cautioning of increased hunger in the months ahead.
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"Only light rains is forecast through June ... and this is not anticipated to reduce dry spell in impacted areas of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its latest report.
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"Well below-average crop production, bad animals body conditions, and increased local food costs are expected, which will minimize poor homes' access to food."
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In Kitui's Kyuso area, the signs are currently apparent.
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Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as an outcome of the extended dry spell.
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Villagers suffer travelling longer ranges - sometimes more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys packed with empty jerry cans in search of water.
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Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom depend on rain-fed farming, go over plans to sell their goats to make ends satisfy if the harvest is poor.
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BATTLING DROUGHT WITH [BIODIESEL](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/)
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But not all Kitui's farmers are worried.
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A little however growing number are [shedding](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) their concern of reliance on the weather - and buying irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) through a pay-as-you-go plan released more than three years ago.
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Neighbouring farmers band together to purchase the irrigation system - which includes the [biodiesel](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of [biodiesel](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) - at expenses beginning with 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.
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The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free regular monthly instalments till the overall is paid off. They buy the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.
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Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, stated the [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) pump enabled him to irrigate a larger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a variety of veggies consisting of maize, tomatoes, spinach and sweet potatoes.
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"With a diesel pump, maize yields were lower and I would get 15,000 shillings in three months. With the [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) pump, I can earn 45,000 shillings," said Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo village, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.
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CIRCULAR ECONOMY
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Other farmers point to the plan as a significant benefit in helping improve their output.
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"The instalment plan is excellent. Most farmers don't have the cash and can not quickly get a loan to purchase a pump like this," said [Maurice Kitheka](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) Munyoki, 41, as he stood next to his blue [biodiesel](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) pump.
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"Having a scheme like this helps us a lot. Our yields are good which implies we can settle the expense of the pump slowly in small quantities, and have money left over to pay the school charges."
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Zaynagro's effort is still in its early stages, with few farmers having actually paid back the full expense of the pumps.
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But such [biofuel](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) schemes are promising since they develop a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for earnings, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, senior [associate](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.
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The simplicity of the design - user friendly, robust technology, ensured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go plan - might help electrify rural Africa, he said.
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"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy alternatives worldwide. The essential problem is evaluating ideas and techniques in a collective fashion," said Sanyal.
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"Other cotton ginning factories in the area need to try and gain from this experiment. Financial institutions need to start try out loans to groups of farmers. International donors and investors require to support experimentation."
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($1 = 101.3000 Kenyan shillings) (Reporting by Nita Bhalla @nitabhalla, Editing by Claire Cozens. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, home rights and climate modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)
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